Interestingly enough, this is the same idea expressed to the rich young ruler: “If you would be perfect go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come, follow me” (Mt 19:21 cf.
The goal of this agape love is perfection: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). Such love is exemplified not by mere absence of discord or hatred, but by communion, acts of goodness, and prayer. Jesus, however, insists that true love is not shown by limiting retribution but through an expansion of charity and self-gift: “But I say to you, love your enemies…” Why? So that “you may be children of your heavenly Father,” filled with divine life. The Law had allowed for retribution-“eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Ex 21:23-25)-but also sought to limit it the punishment should fit the crime. Jesus, in today’s Gospel, gives very specific and surprising directives regarding acts of love: turning the other cheek, giving away one’s garments, and going the extra mile-literally, in the context of being co-opted for such labor by Roman soldiers. Perfection and love go hand in hand holiness and the gift of self to others are inseparable. “Yet, if we love one another,” John also wrote, “God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us” (1 Jn 4:12). … Our good, in other words, is God himself.” God is holy and he is also, as St. He seeks our good, which is to say: our sanctification. Augustine’s Press, 2013), states, “God does not seek our happiness. The philosopher Rémi Brague, in his book On the God of the Christians (St. True love chooses to seek the good for others, which means, ultimately, that we want others-including our enemies-to know and experience the grace and mercy of God. “You shall love your neighbor,” God told Moses and the people, “as yourself.” Whatever does that mean? Does it involve liking them? Having good feelings about them? Not necessarily, since true love is not about passions and emotions, but about our will. I saw that while my housemate was unlikable in many ways, I wasn’t always easy to live with either. I took his advice-rather grudgingly-and found my perspective changing and attitude improving. “When you really pray for someone, you cannot hate them.” Talking to my father on the phone one weekend, I expressed my frustrations and asked, “What should I do?” My father, a man who has never shied from confrontation, surprised me with his answer. During my first year of college, living a thousand miles from home, I found myself dealing with an unlikable, selfish housemate.
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